Here’s a track from my album ‘Ruth’, it’s called Walking with Nicole.
I have been lucky with my recording experience and whilst nothing has hit the headlines yet, there is still time!
I uploaded a number of 5 minute recordings to Facebook during lockdown for my Facebook friends. They were live, and presented as my contribution to a bit of fun for the situation we were all in. I didn’t agonise over the quality. If you would like to contact me the best way is through a PM off Facebook.
The two most recent albums are selling well and are available on iTunes or Apple Music as it is these days along with a lot of other recordings. There aren’t many of those CDs left now. I’m really pleased to hear that other people are singing some of the songs. The beginning of the recording story comes a long time ago.
I found this great letter from Thomas. I think he might have had a bit of help! Thanks for it, Thomas (he’s probably a father himself now and into downloads not wax cylinders!)
And… both nursery rhyme albums are still available from iTunes – BONUS!
Like many another young entertainer, I wanted a recording contract and I had had approaches from Reprise, Black Lion Records, and Saga. Reprise was a pop label, Black Lion focussed on jazz, and Saga recorded a number of folk artistes. Clearly, all of them thought I was in their bag! The pride came in recording for Bill Leader of the folk famous Leader and Trailer labels. Our sessions took place in the depths of Cecil Sharp House where we kept the studio warm as The Boys of the Lough went out and we went in. Cathal McConnell and Frank McConnell met more than once in those days. Black Lion got the signature on the dotted line. They had the rights to a huge discography of stars including many of Nat King Cole’s recordings and I was impressed. We recorded “If the Time Comes’ and it never did! They never released a thing. That album finally was released some years later after I had taken Black Lion to court, they had capitulated in the week before the case came up, and I negotiated a distribution deal for the album with Classic Fox Records.
I recorded several more albums for Classic Fox, mainly children’s songs, but also a set of Christmas Carols, a couple of albums with Christine Rusling and odd tracks on several compilation recordings. Of all those, my favourite is probably a series of tracks inserted into a Great War Poets album between beautiful readings from wonderful voices. Someone has lifted some of these tracks onto YouTube with graphic photographs. One of the tracks, Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire, had been viewed over 314,000 times the last time that I looked. As it’s YouTube, that has probably contributed about four pence to my royalty cheques.
